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Tried a new dive light on a night job and it almost cost me the contract
Last week on a harbor inspection in Seattle, I switched from my usual heavy duty light to a newer, smaller model that claimed the same lumen output. About 40 minutes into the dive, working on a piling at 30 feet, the beam just cut out. No flicker, no warning, just black. I had to feel my way back to the downline by touch in zero visibility, which took maybe ten minutes but felt like an hour. The client's rep on the surface comms was not happy about the delay. I learned that 'waterproof to 100m' on the box doesn't mean squat for real world silt, cold, and getting bumped against steel. I'm sticking with my old clunky light that I know won't fail. Has anyone else had a piece of gear fail at the worst possible time on a job?
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wren6524d ago
Are you seriously saying a ten minute delay in zero viz isn't a huge deal? That's ten minutes where anything could go wrong, from missing a critical defect to a full on safety incident. The client's paying for reliable work, not for you to feel your way around in the dark because of junk gear. That rep being upset is totally valid, it shows they care about the job getting done right and on time.
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Honestly though, was the delay THAT bad? Ten minutes in the grand scheme of a whole job seems pretty minor.
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